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July 12, 2026
 

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FTC

Shogakukan's office in Tokyo. The Fair Trade Commission issued a warning to Shogakukan and Kobunsha for failing to clearly indicate terms and conditions for freelancers they outsource work to.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2025
Japan’s FTC gives first warning over freelance law breaches
Shogakukan and Kobunsha, both based in Tokyo, were urged to take preventive measures under the law, which came into effect in November 2024.
The Fair Trade Commission is investigating supermarket operator Lopia for unfair trade practices involving its suppliers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 16, 2025
Supermarket operator Lopia probed over unfair trade
The company is alleged to have had suppliers dispatch workers to its stores to perform tasks for store openings and refurbishment without compensation.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission said that moves by Nippon Professional Baseball could violate the antimonopoly law, and urged the organization to prevent any recurrence.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2025
Japan Fair Trade Commission warns NPB over Fuji TV media pass denial
The antitrust watchdog said that such moves could violate the antimonopoly law, urging NPB to prevent any recurrence.
According to the Fair Trade Commission, Kadoya Sesame Mills and Takemoto Oil & Fat violated the antimonopoly law by repeatedly conspiring to raise the prices of sesame oil sold to food-makers S&B Foods and Marumiya.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2025
FTC orders sesame oil-makers to halt price cartel, issuing ¥21.98 million fine
The antitrust watchdog said the two firms formed the cartel to secure profits amid rising sesame prices due to production cuts in Africa and a weaker yen.
Officials from the 15 hotel companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC.
JAPAN
May 8, 2025
15 hotel operators in Tokyo warned over possible price-fixing
Officials from the 15 companies had met once a month to exchange information about room occupancy rates, average room prices and room reservations, according to the FTC.
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 17, 2025
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
It is believed that information sharing among the hotels, such as occupancy rates and average room prices, may have influenced pricing.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta, departs federal court in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 17, 2025
Meta saw TikTok as ‘highly urgent’ threat, Zuckerberg says at trial
Zuckerberg was composed, but occasionally evasive, when challenged to explain past messages indicating a concerted effort to muscle out competitors.
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 16, 2025
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has accused the U.S. tech giant of violating the country’s anti-monopoly law by forcing manufacturers to preinstall its apps in smartphones.
A new law in Japan will prohibit IT giants from blocking the entry of other companies into the market or giving preferential treatment to their own services.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2025
Japan’s FTC to regulate Google and Apple under new smartphone law
The law will prohibit IT giants from blocking the entry of other firms into the market.
The packaging materials that Chateraise refused to receive from its subcontractor on Thursday in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2025
Japan FTC warns Chateraise over subcontract law breaches
The regulatory watchdog also urged the company, based in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, to take action to prevent a recurrence of such a problem.
Dentsu's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2025
Watchdog finds Dentsu and other Japanese firms reluctant to accept price hikes
Dentsu, Nippon Express and Kohnan Shoji have kept their transaction prices with their partners unchanged without consultation despite rising raw materials costs.
Bic Camera paid ¥557 million less than originally agreed to 51 contract makers of its private-label products including home appliances between July 2023 and August 2024, according to the Fair Trade Commission.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2025
Japan FTC urges Bic Camera to pay subcontractors in full
Bic Camera is believed to have begun underpaying subcontractors in 2020, when it began selling items under its own name.
Bic Camera is under investigation by the Fair Trade Commission for unreasonable reductions in payments to subcontractors.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2025
Japan’s FTC to advise Bic Camera not to underpay subcontractors
The commission found that Bic Camera unreasonably cut payments by a total of about ¥500 million in violation of the subcontract law.
Japan Post was asked by a subcontractor entrusted with Yu-Pack parcel deliveries to raise the commission fees it paid, in light of rising costs, but Japan Post left subcontracting fees unchanged without discussion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2025
Japan Post also received FTC guidance for second subcontractor issue
Postal service company was asked by a subcontractor to raise the commission fees it paid, in light of rising costs, but made no change.
An investigation conducted by the antitrust watchdog in 2023 and 2024 found that a post office in the Kanto region collected penalty fees from subcontractors without giving them a sufficient explanation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Japan Post received administrative guidance over poorly explained penalties
Penalty fees for failed deliveries and for complaints about cigarette odors were not explained adequately to subcontractors, the Fair Trade Commission found.
The Japanese antitrust watchdog said that Google forced smartphone makers to preinstall its search app on their devices, sources say.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 23, 2024
Japan accuses Google of violating antimonopoly law
The Japanese antitrust watchdog said the U.S. company forced smartphone makers to preinstall its search app on their devices.
Monex Group Chairperson Oki Matsumoto (center), celebrates the debut of Coincheck on the Nasdaq Global Market on Wednesday in New York.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2024
Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck goes public in U.S.
Coincheck, effectively controlled by Japanese online broker Monex Group, aims to expand its operations through acquisitions in the U.S. and Japan.
U.S. companies Apple and Google are likely to be the primary targets of the new law to restrict activities of technology giants with at least 40 million users per month in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 10, 2024
Japan to regulate tech giants with at least 40 million users
U.S. companies Apple and Google are likely to be the main targets of the law.
Packages move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon warehouse
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024
Japan investigating Amazon for allegedly bullying other businesses
Tactics allegedly employed by the retailer involve the squeezing of business partners in exchange for visibility.
Amazon Japan allegedly pressured sellers to lower prices of their products in exchange for advantageous placement on their “Buy Box” system, which highlights one seller’s product as the preferred choice on a product page.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2024
Antitrust watchdog raids Amazon Japan over alleged price-fixing
The investigation is focused on potential breaches of antitrust laws, including abuse of a superior bargaining position and restrictive trading practices.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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